Government expands Sharia law in the Philippines
President Ferdinand Marcos Junior signed a bill this August, creating three new Sharia judicial districts and twelve circuit courts in the Philippines.
The new judicial districts include majority Christian regions, such as Northern Mindanao and the Davao area, provinces in the Visayas, and parts of Luzon and Metro Manila. The law recognizes minority Muslim communities, where they make up between 6-11% of the population. It “acknowledges the importance of the sharia judicial system and brings it closer to the communities it serves, ensuring that justice according to Islamic law is more accessible to all.”
A few Christian leaders highlighted the adverse effect of a gradually increased Islamic influence in the country. Others welcomed the idea, claiming that it will make fairness more attainable for Muslim residents. Pastor Gab Nones, from megachurch Victory Antipolo, stated: “It will influence the dynamics of doing the Great Commission with the culture and communities where the sharia law will take effect.”
When Spain colonized the group of islands later called the Philippines, Christian Filipinos were ordered to fight the indigenous Muslims. The Americans took control in 1898, establishing Moro Province, which was governed separately from Christian regions. Over time, tension increased between Muslims and the US military. Over 600 Muslim men, women and children were slain in the 1906 Bud Dajo Massacre.
BARMM – the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao – was established in 2019, as a peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. According to a missionary, who had lived in the region for years, Muslims and Christians normally live in peace. However, he also explained that Islamic extremists, such as ISIS-supporters, pose a threat to tranquillity. He also warned that these groups have an agenda that they intend to convert everyone to Islam: “They won’t say it publicly because it will be politically incorrect. But we need to understand their agenda for the future: If we Christians have the Great Commission, they have a comparable aim.”
Another missionary, who had served for 26 years, stated: “Gradually but surely, they aim to establish their belief and teachings on sharia law…non-Islamic faiths are given limited religious rights. The expansion of sharia law is alarming.” She also explained how Muslim leaders request Islamic subjects to be incorporated in Christian school curriculum. Muslims also often beat up missionaries when they evangelized in the area.
Rey Corpuz, the previous head of the Philippine Missions Association and a Filipino Christian scholar in Islamic studies, believes that society should welcome religious diversity: “There are 10 million Muslims in the Philippines, and we say we are a Christian nation and the Philippines is for Jesus. How about the Muslims?”
